I don't know if this is just a preference thing, but the default margins in
Word seem too generous. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for this?
--
Carys

Carys wrote:

I don't know if this is just a preference thing, but the default margins in
Word seem too generous. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for this?
--
Carys

What margins are you getting? Modern printed work requires generous
margins (and they look better). Maybe you're used to dense pages? If so,
and you haven't got some problem, it's a matter of becoming used to it.

Tell us what you're getting.

My problem is that I am formatting large docs for other people (who have even
less experience of word than I do! and that's saying something). As a quick
fix to get stuff like tables to fit on one page I have been changing the
margins from Word default to whatever will fit and be printable. This is ok
but I would prefer the page sizes to be consistent throughout the doc and was
just wondering if anyone out there had a standard size.

From your reply it sounds as though there is no std size. Should have
guessed really, everyone is doing something different.

Thanks anyway
--
Carys


" wrote:

Carys wrote:

I don't know if this is just a preference thing, but the default margins in
Word seem too generous. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for this?
--
Carys

What margins are you getting? Modern printed work requires generous
margins (and they look better). Maybe you're used to dense pages? If so,
and you haven't got some problem, it's a matter of becoming used to it.

Tell us what you're getting.

The article I mentioned in my reply to your other post,
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Custom...alTemplate.htm,
also shows how to change the default margins.

Be careful with this, though. Very wide text is hard to read, because
your eye tends to lose track of the location as it goes from the end
of one line to the beginning of the next. For ordinary text of 10 or
11 pt with the standard line spacing, the widest line that's
reasonably comfortable to read is about 6 inches. That's why the
default margins are 1.25 inches on both sides of 8.5 inch Letter-size
paper.

You can push the width a bit larger without damaging the readability
too much by increasing the line spacing. Most "body text" fonts space
the base lines at about 120% of the font size, so single-spaced 10 pt
text is placed on lines 12 pt apart. If you reduce the margins to 1
inch, for a 6.5 inch column, you should set the line spacing (in the
Format Paragraph dialog) to "At Least" 14 pt or 15 pt.

You might be better served to leave the regular text margins as they
are, and just let the wide tables hang out in the margins. Another
ploy is to use smaller fonts in the tables.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 12:59:01 -0700, Carys
wrote:

My problem is that I am formatting large docs for other people (who have even
less experience of word than I do! and that's saying something). As a quick
fix to get stuff like tables to fit on one page I have been changing the
margins from Word default to whatever will fit and be printable. This is ok
but I would prefer the page sizes to be consistent throughout the doc and was
just wondering if anyone out there had a standard size.

From your reply it sounds as though there is no std size. Should have
guessed really, everyone is doing something different.

Thanks anyway

Many thanks for your help on both posts
--
Carys


"Jay Freedman" wrote:

The article I mentioned in my reply to your other post,
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Custom...alTemplate.htm,
also shows how to change the default margins.

Be careful with this, though. Very wide text is hard to read, because
your eye tends to lose track of the location as it goes from the end
of one line to the beginning of the next. For ordinary text of 10 or
11 pt with the standard line spacing, the widest line that's
reasonably comfortable to read is about 6 inches. That's why the
default margins are 1.25 inches on both sides of 8.5 inch Letter-size
paper.

You can push the width a bit larger without damaging the readability
too much by increasing the line spacing. Most "body text" fonts space
the base lines at about 120% of the font size, so single-spaced 10 pt
text is placed on lines 12 pt apart. If you reduce the margins to 1
inch, for a 6.5 inch column, you should set the line spacing (in the
Format Paragraph dialog) to "At Least" 14 pt or 15 pt.

You might be better served to leave the regular text margins as they
are, and just let the wide tables hang out in the margins. Another
ploy is to use smaller fonts in the tables.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Sun, 18 Jun 2006 12:59:01 -0700, Carys
wrote:

My problem is that I am formatting large docs for other people (who have even
less experience of word than I do! and that's saying something). As a quick
fix to get stuff like tables to fit on one page I have been changing the
margins from Word default to whatever will fit and be printable. This is ok
but I would prefer the page sizes to be consistent throughout the doc and was
just wondering if anyone out there had a standard size.

From your reply it sounds as though there is no std size. Should have
guessed really, everyone is doing something different.

Thanks anyway

I changed the set default margins from 1" (which I think is a ridiculous waste) to 15mm all round, Top, Bottom, Left, & Right.
Depending on how tight your printer cuts off the printing at the bottom of your page is the only limitation to extending the
readable area of your page to whatever you choose. Make your own rules.

Buck


wrote in message ...
Carys wrote:

I don't know if this is just a preference thing, but the default margins in
Word seem too generous. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for this?
--
Carys

What margins are you getting? Modern printed work requires generous
margins (and they look better). Maybe you're used to dense pages? If so,
and you haven't got some problem, it's a matter of becoming used to it.

Tell us what you're getting.

Well Buck, 1" is barely sufficient and 15mm way too narrow. As Jay has
pointed out, the eye just cannot comfortably read page after page filled
with text from edge to edge.

The important factors are the eye needs to be able to scan lines of text
without undue left/right movement of the eye and the eye needs sufficient
white space between lines to act as a guide, otherwise the eye may wonder
onto the line below or above. This is why many people prefer reading from
written pages to reading from a monitor because a monitor is far too wide
for sustained comfortable reading.

Using standard 10 or 11 point type, the maximum width an eye can comfortable
scan is around 6", so on a standard width A4/Letter page (8½" wide), the
margins need to be around 1¼" wide and there needs to be approximately
15/16points leading between lines.

This is why paperbacks are all around the size they are and not all magazine
width. They are easy to read.

--
Terry Farrell - Word MVP
http://word.mvps.org/



"Buck Rabbit" wrote in message
...
:I changed the set default margins from 1" (which I think is a ridiculous
waste) to 15mm all round, Top, Bottom, Left, & Right.
: Depending on how tight your printer cuts off the printing at the bottom of
your page is the only limitation to extending the
: readable area of your page to whatever you choose. Make your own rules.
:
: Buck
:
:
: wrote in message ...
: Carys wrote:
:
: I don't know if this is just a preference thing, but the default
margins in
: Word seem too generous. Does anyone out there have any suggestions for
this?
: --
: Carys
:
: What margins are you getting? Modern printed work requires generous
: margins (and they look better). Maybe you're used to dense pages? If so,
: and you haven't got some problem, it's a matter of becoming used to it.
:
: Tell us what you're getting.
:
: